Chapter 12 - Bay State Sent An Inspector After They Canceled Us
Two weeks before our policy expired, Bay State sent an inspector.
I thought it was a mistake.
The man parked in front, walked the property, photographed the roof, siding, fence, tree line.
Sarah came outside.
“Why are you here?”
“Condition verification.”
“For a policy they canceled?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“I'm contracted. I don't make underwriting decisions.”
“Then who ordered this?”
“Carrier.”
I called Lisa while he was still there.
She sounded surprised.
Then annoyed.
“Let me check.”
Ten minutes later she called back.
“Automated workflow.”
Sarah laughed.
The inspector heard.
He looked apologetic.
I asked:
“So they wanted us to spend forty-two thousand, dropped us anyway, and now they're paying someone to verify we did what they demanded?”
Lisa sighed.
“Yes.”
“Good system.”
The inspector finished.
Before leaving, he said:
“For what it's worth, your place looks good.”
I nearly hugged him.
Instead:
“Thank you.”
Later that afternoon, Lisa came over with another quote.
Better.
Not good.
Annual premium:
$7,260.
Wind deductible:
$7,500.
Carrier financially stable.
Would issue once Bay State ended.
Sarah read every page.
I watched.
Lisa said:
“This is the strongest standard-market option I found.”
Sarah looked at me.
“We can afford it.”
I nodded.
The premium would add around $280 a month over our old cost.
Manageable.
Annoying.
Very different from eleven thousand.
Lisa said:
“I know this doesn't make the repairs feel better.”
Sarah looked at her.
“The repairs don't need feelings.”
Lisa almost smiled.
Then her face became serious.
“I owe both of you an apology.”
I started to say she'd already done that.
She continued.
“I found an underwriting bulletin from July twenty-fourth.”
Sarah went still.
“What bulletin?”
“Bay State told agents it expected significant nonrenewal activity in several storm-exposed areas.”
I stared.
“You had that before the tree work.”
“Yes.”
“Before the siding.”
“Yes.”
“Before the fence.”
“Yes.”
Sarah sat.
“Why are you telling us now?”
“Because I should have then.”
Silence.
Lisa continued:
“I read it as general market guidance, not a notice that your policy specifically would be dropped.”
“Still.”
“Yes.”
She looked ashamed.
“I didn't want you to delay required repairs while I shopped.”
I asked:
“Were all the repairs required?”
“For Bay State's condition review, yes.”
“That is not the question.”
Lisa understood.
“Would the new carrier have accepted the old fence?”
“Possibly.”
“Tree?”
“Probably not.”
“Siding?”
“Maybe with documentation.”
“Roof?”
“No.”
So not forty-two thousand.
Not zero.
Uncertainty again.
Sarah asked:
“If you'd told us everything, would you have recommended finishing all of it?”
Lisa thought.
“I would have recommended the roof and tree immediately.”
“And the rest?”
“I would have shopped first.”
There it was.
Maybe we would have saved eight thousand.
Maybe twelve.
Maybe nothing if every carrier demanded the same.
We would never know.
Lisa looked at us.
“If you want to move your account to another agency, I understand.”
Sarah looked at me.
I shrugged slightly.
Her decision too.
She told Lisa:
“Find us the best policy. Then we'll decide.”
Lisa nodded.
After she left, Sarah stood at the mailbox.
The place where all this started.
She opened it.
Utility bill.
Grocery coupons.
Nothing catastrophic.
She laughed.
“What?”
“I hate this box.”
I stood beside her.
“You want me to replace it?”
She looked at me.
I immediately realized.
She started laughing harder.
“No.”
I smiled.
“Right.”
May you like
“Leave one thing alone.”
So I did.
